The Boggart
by Maceus
Summary: Sixth year, and the Slytherins and Gryffindors have to face boggarts again, but in an all new way. What Malfoy is most afraid of shocks everybody. Rated T just to be safe. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of it's characters.**

"Seriously?"

It was Gryffindor and Slytherin combination Defense Against the Dark Arts. They were in a cleared classroom, a shaking dresser the only piece of furniture inside. Draco Malfoy had been the one to speak, he was rolling his eyes. They were in sixth year, _sixth year_, mind you, and Snape thought that it would be a good idea to have them have a lesson on _boggarts._

"We learned about these in third year, Professor," said Malfoy, giving Snape a disbelieving look.

"Yes, I am aware of this, Mr. Malfoy," sneered Snape. "But I believe that it's good for you students to get a good dose of fear every once in a while. For this lesson, you will not be allowed to use _Ridikkulus. _You shall simply just walk away from the boggart after seeing what you are most afraid of."

"Excuse me, sir," said Hermione. "But how is this supposed to help us defend ourselves against the Dark Arts?"

"I am surprised that you do not know, Miss Granger. This is a simple exercise of endurance. If we are able to walk away from our deepest fear completely mentally fine, then we are more likely to keep our heads during a fight against, oh, Death Eaters, for instance.

"You will stand with your hands at your sides and endure the boggart for thirty seconds. If you use your wand or run away, you will fail this lesson."

A rush of whispers broke out amongst the sixth years, but some just looked downright terrified. Who knew what it would be like to not be able to defend themselves against their worst fears?

"Let's get started." said Snape.

He had the sixth years form into a single file line, an unfortunate Ron was at the front of the group, looking rather fidgety. Snape looked almost pleased to see the frightened students. He reached for the bottom drawer, and with a sweeping motion, he pulled it open.

What looked like a thick black blanket flowed out of the drawer, but the sixth years who knew Ron knew better. They were thousands and thousands of small furry spiders, spreading out on the wooden floor, rushing straight towards Ron. Ron whimpered slightly as he struggled to stand still. The spiders began to climb up his legs as a particularly large spider climbed out of the drawer behind its children. Using its large, spindly legs, it walked creepily up to Ron, who looked like he might faint. The spider then got a few inches away from Ron, baring its fangs, venom dripping from the lethal-looking weapons. The small spiders had reached Ron's waist, and he looked like he might not last very much longer; he wasn't breathing.

"You may now slowly and level headedly walk away, Ronald." said Snape in what appeared to be a rather gleeful voice.

Ron, all the color drained out of his face, shaking uncontrollably, walked away from the spider, the smaller spiders dropped from his legs.

One by one, the sixth years shakily faced the boggart for the longest thirty seconds of their lives. Neville actually collapsed, Snape had to raise his body with his wand and send him to the hospital wing. Soon the classroom was full of pale, sick-looking sixth years.

Next up was Hermione, who clenched her teeth as Professor McGonagall showed her that she had failed every class. She kept taking deep breaths, her hands in fists by her hands. When Snape said that her thirty seconds was up, she was more pale than she had been at the beginning of class, but definitely looked the best out of all the sixth years that had faced the boggart.

For the sanity of the class, Harry was not allowed to face the boggart when the rest of the class was present, but Snape asked him to stay after class for a while to face what would undoubtedly be Voldemort for his thirty seconds.

The last one to go was Malfoy. As was highly predictable, he walked cockily up to the boggart, looking like he was buying Cockroach Clusters at Honeydukes. But what happened next nobody had predicted.

The boggart spun around for a second, deciding what to transform into. When it ceased to spin, a very mad-looking Hermione was facing him.

"Oh, no," Malfoy moaned.

Snape, who had not seen the boggart transform, said, "Granger, what are you doing?"

"I'm over here, Professor," said the real Hermione in a distant sounding voice. She was looking at her look-alike, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Malfoy's greatest fear was her?

"Draco Malfoy!" the boggart Hermione screeched. Malfoy flinched. "You are the foulest creature that I have ever met! I hate you! I _hate _you!"

Boggart Hemione continued to scream at him, and the rest of the classroom was trying to figure out what was going on. Malfoy's greatest fear was Hermione telling him that she hated him? But _he _hated _her_…

Boggart Hermione was growing red in the face. "You are so stupid, Malfoy! Absolutely dumb! Why in the world would you _ever _think-"

"Hermione, please…" Malfoy started, but the boggart continued to scream at him.

"-that in a million years that _I _would _ever_ love _you_?"

The classroom was dead silent as the boggart panted, tears of sadness were filling her eyes. "Are you seriously that vain?"

The boggart ran away crying, her face buried in her hands. She flopped down with uncontrollable tears next to the dresser, the whole classroom staring at her.

"_Ridikkulus_!" shouted Snape, and the boggart retreated back into the dresser drawer. Snape slammed the drawer shut. "Your homework is a twelve inch essay on how to get through your fears. Class dismissed."

The sixth years quickly got to their feet and fled, whispering fervently about the boggart's last transformation. Hermione and Malfoy were rooted where they stood. Then Malfoy quickly spun around on his heels, using long strides to exit the classroom, Hermione staring after him.

"I said that class was dismissed, Miss Granger," sneered Snape.

Hermione walked out, wondering what in the world just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP**

Hermione was jogging after Malfoy in the overcrowded hallway.

"Malfoy! _Hey_! Malfoy!"

Malfoy turned sharply on his heels, causing Hermione to almost run into him.

"What went on back there?" asked Hermione, out of breath.

"I don't want to talk to anybody about it. Especially not filthy little _mudbloods_." Draco spat, turning around again.

"Hey!"

"_What_?" snapped Malfoy, turning once again to face Hermione.

Hermione stood there. She had gotten Malfoy's attention, but now she didn't know what to say. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked lamely.

"Hmm, let me think, _no._" and he strode off, leaving a very confused Hermione behind.

"I heard what happened in Defense today," said Ginny, sitting next to Hermione on the couch.

"Doesn't everybody?" asked Hermione, sighing.

"Did you do anything about it?" Ginny asked.

"I tried." said Hermione. "He didn't want to talk to me."

"Well, duh! Of course he doesn't want to talk to you!"

Hermione looked confusedly at Ginny.

"You have to understand the male ego: He's probably spent a lot of time in Slytherin denying his feelings for you, just to have his feelings displayed on a neon sign not only in front of his fellow Slytherins, but also the Gryffindors."

Hermione let out an "Oh!" of understanding. It all made sense now…

"What should I do?" asked Hermione.

"Well, do you like him back?"

Hermione had been asking herself this question all night. She went back and forth between the past and what she felt right now. Her heart was telling her one thing and her brain another. She had tried to work it out logically, but to no avail, so she decided to go with what her heart was screaming at her brain and nodded.

"Then get him alone, away from prying eyes, and tell him. Then he'll feel comfortable to talk it out with you." Ginny smiled at her.

"What was all that at Defense today? Pretty weird, huh?" asked Ron, flopping down into the armchair next to the fire.

"I'll say." said Harry, giving Ginny a quick kiss and sitting down next to her. "I'm just glad that you don't like him, Hermione. Could you imagine? You and Malfoy!"

The boys laughed, and the girls swapped meaningful looks. A wordless agreement passed between them, Hermione's relationship (if there ever would be one) with Malfoy would be kept a secret.

It was almost curfew, and Hermione was leaning up against the wall that was in front of the Slytherin common room. No one had seen her yet, all the Slytherins were already in their common room. Hermione had bewitched a piece of paper to slide through the crack between the Slytherin portrait and zoom to Malfoy. The note said that Snape want to see him A.S.A.P. so that he wouldn't be suspicious.

The portrait creaked and Hermione jumped. Seconds later a tall boy with white hair turned the corner, then his eyes grew wide as he saw Hermione. He crumpled the note in his fist and turned to walk back into the common room when Hermione stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Can't we just talk about this?" she asked.

"Talk about what?" Malfoy said coldly. Hermione could tell that he was trying to sound like his normal, ignorant self, but she could see the pain in his eyes.

All of Hermione's prepared speech fled her mind. She knew what she had to do to get Malfoy to listen to her, but she still hesitated all the same.

She grabbed Malfoy's Slytherin tie and pulled him to closer to her. Their faces were just inches away from each other's. Hermione's heart pounded against her chest as her senses became extremely aware of how close he was to her. His grey eyes were staring right into hers, they seemed to go right down to her very soul.

"Kiss me." she whispered.

Malfoy was all too willing to comply. Their lips met in a second. Hermione put her hands on his neck, he wrapped his arms around her waist. Their lips were perfect matches for one another. Their bodies were pressed together. Hermione loved the way that the contours of his body seemed to fit into hers like a puzzle piece. They stood locked in position for what seemed like an eternity of bliss. When they broke apart, Malfoy was smiling like a child on Christmas.

"Hermione," he breathed.

"Draco." Hermione loved the way that his name felt on her tongue.

Malfoy kissed her gently. "Does this mean that you're mine?" he asked in a whisper.

Hermione looked up into his eyes. God, how she loved those eyes. "I guess it does."

"We can't tell anyone," he whispered into her hair, pulling her further into him.

"I know," she sighed into his chest.

"This isn't safe."

"Not one bit."

"But it's real."

"And that's all that matters."

Malfoy kissed her forehead and walked swiftly away.

Hermione missed him already.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I'm not as good as a writer as J.K. Rowling, so how could I possibly own her masterpiece?**

"Back off, Granger!"

"Not until you apologize, _Malfoy_!"

Not wanting to seem suspicious, Hermione and Draco had made a plan for Draco to act just as terribly to Hermione and her friends as he always had. He had been talking loudly about how filthy Muggle-borns were, saying that any Mudblood that walked the halls of Hogwarts was as filthy as the Dungbomb smell that still resided in the place where Fred and George had made heir infamous escape from Hogwarts last year. Hermione had heatedly rose from her spot underneath the trio's usual tree and was now inches away from Draco's face, pretending to be furious but really loving how close she was to him.

"I have nothing to say to a filthy little Mudblood like you." Draco sneered at her, but his hand was on her hip.

Hermione shoved him backwards, her hands flat on his chest. "It's jerks like you that are never going to grow to be anything more than a cockroach!"

"Feisty, are we, Granger?" Draco laughed at her.

"You have no idea," she growled, but putting a secret meaning behind her words.

"Whomping willow, ten o'clock?" suggested Draco, making it sound like a threat.

"You're on," said Hermione, whipping around and walking away from him. She was looking forward to ten o'clock.

"You sure showed her, Malfoy," guffawed Goyle.

Draco stormed back into the castle, smiling to himself. Hermione was a pretty good actress, he had to admit. He almost felt threatened by her. Almost.

Somehow, the incident in Defense Against the Dark Arts was covered up by saying that Draco's worst fear wasn't Hermione saying that she would never love him, but that his worst fear that _nobody_ liked him, and the boggart just happened to take on Hermione's form because it was the first girl that it saw in the classroom. So, nobody was a bit suspicious of Draco and Hermione.

Everyone was in the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione was poking at her eggs, smiling to herself as she relived the events of the night before. They didn't go far, but their love for each other was great enough that one single kiss made their souls catch fire. Just to hold each other's hands made them feel excited, so to kiss was like an overload.

Hermione was so caught up in her fantasies that she didn't realize the large barn owl that landed in front of her, hooting irritably to try to get her to take an overstuffed envelope out of its beak.

"Hermione…" called Harry, snapping Hermione out of her daydream. He nodded at the owl, and Hermione took the letter out of its beak, and the owl swept away.

Hermione was surprised. Her parents didn't know how to use owls for mail, so why would she be getting a letter? The letter had no writing on the front, nor of the back. There was no seam on the envelope, either. Hermione recognized it as an One Seal envelope, it only would open from one specific person's wand. Who would send her a top secret envelope…?

Hermione looked over on the other end of the Great Hall and saw that Draco was looking at her intently. He smiled, affirming her suspicion that the letter was from him. She smiled back and slipped the envelope into her bag.

Harry and Ron were eyeing her suspiciously. "Who's that from?" asked Ron.

"Oh- um it's just my- uh, Professor gave me some- I wanted to know what my grades were, so that's probably what this is…"

She quickly stood up and left the Great Hall, Harry and Ron staring after her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: You can't prove anything!**

***Professor McGongall giving Maceus a disapproving look.***

**Maceus: *flinchin* I know, I know! I'm a terrible author! I haven't updated in so long!**

***Professor still looking at her disapprovingly but nods and walks off.***

**Maceus: Sorry guys! *gives weak smile* Review? Please?**

_Dear Hermione,_

_I would have used my own owl, but that might have been a bit suspicious. _

_Anyway, I couldn't sleep, not after our ten o'clock match, so I decided to write you this letter. Not the typical thing for guys to do, but ever since I fell for you, I haven't exactly been your average guy. _

_Great. Now that I have this paper out, I don't know what to write. _

_I guess I'll just write down the things that I know:_

_One: I'm in love with a beautiful Muggle-born._

_Two: That is extremely dangerous, but I don't care._

_Three: My dad would kill me if he knew. Litterally._

_Four: It's all worth it for you._

_Five: I've caused you grief ever since I can remember. Forgive me?_

_Six: I love you._

_Seven: I want you._

_Eight: I love you._

_Nine: This whole letter sounds like some hopeless romantic schoolboy. But I guess that that's true._

_Ten: I would do anything for you._

_Eleven: I love you._

_Have I mentioned that I love you, Hermione? Well, I do. Every moment spent away from you is a moment wasted, a moment in agony. Even as I write this letter there's a hole in my chest that can only be cured when I'm with you. I hate having to keep our relationship a secret. It sucks. I want to stand on the top of the Astronomy Tower and sing and shout about how much I love you. But I realize that if anyone knew I wouldn't be able to be with you anymore, and that would be the death of me. Period. End of story. You mean that much to me._

_I love you, I miss you, I wish that you were here._

_Draco._

* * *

><p><em>Draco Malfoy!<em>

_Don't you dare _**ever** _talk about you dying! Ever! It's too unbearable for me to think about. If I even think about being in a world that you don't exist…_

_No. I'm not thinking about it anymore._

_Things that I know:_

_One: I love you._

_Two: When I'm with you, I don't know how to describe what feelings happen inside me. It's like a balloon that slowly inflates until it's too big to be inside my chest anymore. And that's just when you're in a three-foot radius of me. But when you're kissing me… that's a whole different story._

_Three: If you no longer existed… Wait, I'm not thinking about that anymore._

_Four: I love you._

_Five: When I'm not with you, it's like I'm imploding. A black hole forms in my chest and slowly eats me alive._

_Six: I punched you in third year. Forgive me?_

_Seven: If your father ever shows up at this school I'll punch him too._

_Eight: I want you._

_Nine: I love you._

_Ten: I would do anything for you._

_Eleven: I love you._

_Did I mention that I love you?_

_Hermione._

**Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Yo, I'm just a FanFic writer,**

**Writing about two lovers,**

**But they don't belong to me,**

**So don't call a C-O-P**

**A/N: Okay, that didn't really rhyme, but I'm trying to be creative. :~) Please review!**

We were being bad children. We were out on the Hogwarts grounds after hours. I was laying next to Draco, we were looking up at the stars. Draco's arm was wrapped around my shoulders, distracting me from our game of finding pictures in the stars.

"There's a snake," said Draco, connecting a series of stars together with his finger.

"And a lion," I said, tracing my own set of stars.

"They look like their overlapping," Draco said.

I moved myself closer to him. "Kind of like us."

Draco stroked my hair. "It's like that old Muggle story," he mumbled. I didn't know if it had been a thought that accidentally escaped his mouth, but I replied anyway.

"What? Cinderella?" I asked, giggling quietly to myself as I imagined Draco as Prince Charming, going around everywhere trying to find whose foot fit into the glass slipper.

"No," said Draco. "Beauty and the Beast. I've caused you so much pain and suffering, when all you wanted was peace. But I continued to torment you, even when I realized that I loved you. I don't deserve you, I can add that to the list of things that I know. I don't deserve you at all."

I looked into Draco's face. His jaw was set, his grey eyes fixed on the sky above us. A look of utter dislike was displayed across his face: a look of disgust for himself.

I put my hand on his cheek, making him look at me. His eyes were like a child's, looking right into mine, searching for comforting words. I loved how looking into his eyes made me feel, like I was in a warm blanket that protected me against the dangers of the world.

"And all this time I thought that it was the other way around." I said.

Draco shook his head. "Not one bit."

We lied there for the longest time, just looking into each other's eyes, enjoying each other's presence. Then he slightly turned his head, and his lips met mine. This time, our hearts didn't speed up to an unbearable rate so that we had to break apart. This kiss had come just from pure and innocent love, and it was in that moment that we became one. Draco wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I placed my hand on his chest, I could feel the contours of his body through his thin shirt. There was such happiness and joy around us that I couldn't help but let out a bell-like laugh. I felt Draco's lips part into a wide smile beneath mine.

"What?" I asked, laughing again.

"You," he replied, laughing as well.

I raised an eyebrow at him, which he apparently thought was highly attractive, because I felt him shiver, despite how warm he was. Pushing my luck, I ran my hands up his chest and stopped it around his neck, which made him shake like a little puppy.

"I make you nervous!" I exclaimed with glee.

Draco looked defiant. "You do not!"

I looked at him skeptically. "Really…"

I moved my hands to his back, lightly tracing his shoulder blades and trailing down his spine. Then I went back up, running my hands through his hair. I could tell that he was determined not to show me any weakness, but I could feel the light tremors that were issuing from him.

"Ha! See?" I asked, a look of triumph on my face.

Draco suddenly got a wicked smile. "Well, let's see how well you fair…"

I instantly tightened every muscle in my body. His hand started at my knee and slowly traced up my thigh and up to my waist, where he drew little circles on my hip under my shirt. I had managed to suppress shivers, but he could feel the goosebumps that had raised on my skin.

"Truce?" I asked breathlessly, my muscles under his hands seizing up.

Draco chuckled and kissed me again, but then we heard the mewing of a cat. We immediately looked up and saw a set of yellow eyes looking right at us. It was Mrs. Norris.

We scrambled up onto our feet and ran back into Hogwarts, our hands intertwined and laughing all the way back to our dorms.

**Review PLEASE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP**

"I'm telling you, Malfoy is a Death Eater." said Harry for the umpteenth time. "He's been up at the Room of Requirement a lot, and I don't know why…"

Hermione set her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ down on the table. "Harry, you're just being paranoid.""No, I'm not! He's working on something in there." said Harry, trying to make the other two see his position.

"You need to get out more often, mate," said Ron, taking a huge bite out of his toast.

"Yeah," said Hermione. "Look, Harry, Dr-Malfoy's a lot of things-" _beautiful, romantic, amazing, handsome, charming… _"but he is _not_ a Death Eater."

Harry's constant persisting that Draco was a Death Eater was getting on Hermione's nerves. How _could _Draco be a Death Eater? Sure, his dad had been one, and they had seen him in that dark and musty shop, but as Ron said, "It's a creepy shop, he's a creepy bloke." Just because he had been dragged into that shop by his mother didn't make him a Death Eater. But for some reason, she kept having dreams from last year in the Department of Mysteries, but when she took one of the masks off of one of the Death Eaters, it revealed Draco's cool and leering face.

Hermione stole a glance over to the Slytherin table. Draco was looking paler than normal, and he was staring blankly at his untouched food. Over the past few days, no, the past couple weeks, he seemed really detached, but whenever she tried to talk to him about it, he would deflect on a different subject. It made her hurt to see Draco like this. She would talk to him today after Defense Against the Dark Arts. She had to know what was going on with him.

That day in Defense, the lesson was, shockingly, boggarts. This time, Snape took the students into an isolated room away from everyone else. When he called back Draco, he actually locked the door behind him.

There was a small chest in the corner of the room, it was rocking gently back and forth.

Draco had braced himself, but Snape didn't make a move to open it. He stood there, staring at Draco for a moment, until Draco said, "What?"

"I know." said Snape blandly.

Draco's jaw was set. "Know what, exactly?"

"How stupid do you have to be, boy?" sneered Snape. "You and Granger? How do you think that you can fulfill the Dark Lord's wishes if you have a little schoolboy crush on a _Mudblood_?"

Draco's lips made a tight line. "I don't know what your talking about."

Snape gave him a smirk that looked more like a snarl. "Let me put it into simple terms for you; You think that you're in love with Granger, and because of that you are having second thoughts on the duty that the Dark Lord has given you."

Draco looked out the window, determined not to make eye contact with Snape. He knew that he was a Legilimens, but if he didn't make eye contact with him he couldn't read his mind.

"You think that I need eye contact to use Legilimency on you, Draco?" said Snape. "Well…"

Suddenly, quick visions were flashing before Draco's eyes: The boggart-Hermione, the first time they kissed, them fake arguing, him tracing the stars in the sky, writing her the letter, gazing at her from across the room, her running her hands on his chest, him with his hand on her hip, their kiss on the Hogwarts grounds…

Draco yelled in fury and the visions stopped. Draco glared at Snape with utter dislike, his chest rising and falling heavily.

"That's private!" he shouted at Snape, and Snape smile wickedly.

"You sound so much like Mr. Potter…" he fixed his black eyes on Draco's. "I just hope that your objective isn't the same as his."

Draco's hands were clenched at his sides. Snape had just exposed the only thing that he cared about, the only thing that he loved, all his experiences with Hermione were now Snape's as well. It made him sick.

"Now, back to the lesson," said Snape, opening the chest.

Sure enough, Hermione climbed out, looking around her. When her eyes caught Draco's, a look of rage overtook her face.

"_You_!" the boggart screamed. "You're a Death Eater? You were supposed to kill Dumbledore? Draco, how could you? I never want to see you ever again, you worthless _dirt_!" the boggart's eyes filled with tears. "And to think that you actually got me to _care_ about you! You just wanted to get closer to Harry so that you could spy on him for Voldemort! I hate you! I _hate_ you!"

Draco's eyes were filled with hot tears as he looked away from the fake Hermione. Snape forced the boggart back into the chest.

"You may go, Draco."

Draco unlocked the door and stormed out, walking out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts room before anyone could see the tears running down his face.

**Hey, you know that little blue link on the bottom of this page that says "Reveiw"? Yeah, I think that you should click that... it might bring you some good luck...**

**I think that I might rewrite that chapter sometime, but I had to kind of rush it so that you guys could have this chapter :) **

**Reveiw Please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N I've gotten a review saying that there's no substance to Draco and Hermione's relationship, and looking back at the story I see that they're right :(. I kind of just flung them together and all of the sudden Draco's ready to risk everything for Hermione. I apologize. I know that i should have done it right the first time around, but if you want me to add a few chapters to the beginning, please say so in your review and if enough people want me to, I'll gladly get right on that. However, that would mean that I wouldn't be able to post stuff about what's going to happen next as quick as I normally would, so it's your choice: Learn about the past, or find out what happens in the future. Either one is _totally _fine with me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP or any of the content that was taken straight from the book for this chapter.**

Harry was walking through the halls, the Marauder's Map inches from his face. He would find Malfoy this time, he would catch him, he was certain of it. After Malfoy had stormed out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, he knew that he would be going to the Room of Requirement. Snape had probably given him orders to go there. He was scanning the map, trying to find Malfoy's dot. At first, he couldn't find it, so he was certain that he was in the Room of Requirement, but he found his dot in the boys bathroom in the floor below, not accompanied by Crabbe or Goyle, but Moaning Myrtle.

Harry quickly darted down the marble staircase, walking up to the boy's bathroom and pressing an ear to the door. When he couldn't hear anything, he opened it slightly, poking his head in.

Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.

"Don't," crooned Moaning Myrtle's voice from one of the cubicles, "Don't…tell me what's wrong…I can help you…"

"No one can help me," said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. "I can't do it…I can't…Not now, not after that…And-and what about _her_...but if I don't do it, he-he says that he'll kill me…"

And Harry realized, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying-actually _crying_- tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.

Malfoy wheeled around, retaliating the only way that he knew how, with hexes and curses. His spells missed Harry just by inches. Harry threw a curse back, but Malfoy deflected it, raising his wand for another-

"No! No! Stop it!" squealed Moaning Myrtle, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room. "Stop! STOP!"

The hexes flew back and forth behind them, causing loud crashes and explosions accompanied by Moaning Myrtle's screams. Then Malfoy suddenly drew himself up, pointing his wand right at Harry's heart. "_Cruc-_"

"_SECTUM SEMPRA!"_ bellowed Harry, waving his wand around wildly.

Blood spurted from Malfoy's face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backward and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp hand.

"No-" gasped Harry.

He stumbled towards Malfoy and knelt down next to him, the blood-stained water on the floor soaking through his robes.

"MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!" squeeled Moaning Myrtle, zooming around the bathroom above their heads.

The door banged open behind Harry and he looked up, terrified: Snape had burst into the room, his face livid. Pushing Harry roughly aside, he knelt over Malfoy, drew his wand, and traced it over the deep wounds Harry's curse had made, muttering an incantation that sounded almost like a song. The flow of blood seemed to ease; Snape wiped the residue from Malfoy's face and repeated his spell.

Snape slung Malfoy's arms around his neck, Malfoy's head lolling as he was dragged across the soaked bathroom floor. Harry hurried after them, following them all the way up to the Hospital Wing. Girls screamed behind them as they saw the blood-stained Malfoy. When they got up to the Hospital Wing, Snape laid him down on one of the beds, and Madam Pomfrey began to immediately work over him, pouring liquids down his throat and rubbing slabs of a blue mixture on the sewed up cuts.

Snape wheeled around and looked down at Harry over his long nose. "I'll deal with you later." and he swept out of the room, almost running into a bushy-haired sixth year girl as she rushed into the Hospital Wing.

"_Draco_!" the girl screamed, rushing over to his side. She touched his cheek and smoothed down his hair, tears running down her cheeks.

Harry found his second shock of the day; it was Hermione. He just stood there as Hermione cried over Malfoy, running her fingers through his hair and looking at the scars on his chest.

"What happened?" she asked, her red eyes looking up at Madam Pomfrey, who looked at Harry. Hermione followed her gaze to Harry, and her face showed confusion.

"_You_ did this?" she asked, more tears pouring from her eyes.

Harry just stared blankly back at her.

"It was that stupid book, wasn't it? I _told_ you to throw that away, Harry! Now look where it got you! You _murdered _him!" Hermione screamed, her body shaking violently with harsh tears.

Harry looked between Hermione and Malfoy, then realization hit him.

"You-?" Harry asked, not able to get out the last words out.

"Yes, Harry Freaking Genius Potter! I love him!"

"_Do you now_?" said a cool voice from behind them.

Harry and Hermione wheeled around to face none other than Lucius Malfoy. A sneer was at his lips as he looked disgustedly down on Hermione. "A filthy, pathetic Mudblood like you? Draco wouldn't do as much as _look_ at you. Now move away from my son, vermin." He spat out the last word.

"Don't…talk to…her…like that…" came Malfoy's strained voice.

Malfoy's eyes were barely open, he winced with pain as Madam Pomfrey pressed down on his chest.

Hermione whipped around, looking down at Malfoy, a smile spreading across her face. "Draco…"

Lucius looked from Hermione, down to his son, then back to Hermione. A murderous look encased his stone-like eyes. Knowing what was coming, Malfoy feebly grasped Hermione's hand, but mirrored his father's cool look.

Lucius rushed forward and shoved Hermione aside, Harry caught her before she hit the floor. His face was inches away from his son's, and he was ignoring Madam Pomfrey's protests.

"What have you done?" he hissed. "This is against-" he quickly looked up at Madam Pomfrey, then back at his son. "_his_ wishes! How are you supposed to complete your task if you going after _Mudbloods_?" he spat the last word, making Draco flinch. Lucius spun around, his eyes fixing on Hermione.

"However..." he said in a low voice. "I know how to fix this…"

Malfoy was only able to let out a strangled "No!" before Lucius strode forward and tangled his fingers in Hermione's hair. She screamed as he spun on the spot, and they were gone.

**Okay, okay, I know that you can't Apparate inside Hogwarts' boundaries, but for the sake of the story line, forget that minor detail! Please reveiw!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, sorry for not updating in so long. You know that Reviews are always welcome. And sorry for such a short chapter! More coming soon (hopefully)!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP**

"Who is this, Lucius?" Narcissa asked, looking wide-eyed as her husband walked into their home, his fingers knotted in a young girl's hair.

"We've acquired a new house guest," Lucius said wrathfully, blowing right past his wife. Hermione screamed and cried, but Lucius continued to pull at her hair, dragging her down a series of stairs and throwing her harshly down into a cold room. Hermione's chin and hands skidded on the floor, long scratches appearing and bleeding. She heard a high pitched creak and a slam. When she looked behind her, she realized that Lucius had thrown her in a dungeon and was now sneering at her from the other side of the bars. Hermione drew her wand, but Lucius, with a flick of his, sent it flying from her hand and into his.

"It's a pity," he said, glaring down at her. "You're a pretty little thing."

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked, terror making her voice quiver.

"Oh…" said Lucius, laughing evilly, "Well… You don't have to worry about death, at least, not yet, I want to keep you alive for… personal reasons. Although," he said, shrugging, "Once the Dark Lord finds out that there's a Mudblood in our midst, I don't think that I'll have any say in the matter."

He smiled cruelly at her, turning on his heels and walking away, swinging the keys to her cell around his finger, humming a cheerful tune as he left a broken Hermione to herself.

* * *

><p><strong>HPOV<strong>

I held my stinging hands in my lap, letting my tears fall down on them. I was crying uncontrollably, so I might as well have used my tears for soothing purposes. I was so scared and confused. I now know why Ron had said that if someone had tried to bottle up too many emotions, they would explode. That's what I felt like. It had all happened so fast: Draco storming out of the Defense room after his private match with the boggart in Snape's office, then the rushed whisper that Draco had been murdered. I had run up to the hospital wing, praying the whole way there that the rumors weren't true. Then, to my horror, I saw that they were. I had rushed to his side, and then I realized that Harry had been the one that did it… and it was all because of that stupid book. And then Draco's dad showed up, and that was horrifying in itself, but then I felt a feeble hand enclose mine. Draco was alive. But before I knew it, Lucius had his hands tangled in my hair, and we had Disapparated. And now I was here… and I'm pretty sure that 'here' is Malfoy Manor.

What terrified me most was what Lucius had said about You-Know-Who. He said that he was here, in the mansion… The very thought made me shake. The most powerful wizard in the world was staying just upstairs. If anything was more frightening, I probably would have burst with horror.

The most immanent danger, though, was what Lucius had refered to as his "personal reasons." I had been left to imagine the worst, and the worst scared me and made me curl up in a little ball, silently praying to anyone who would listen. I didn't think that he would do that sort of thing with a Muggle-born, but when it came to Lucius, you never knew how low he would sink for his own… pleasure.

And with these thoughts weighing down on my shoulders, I sunk even further into the cool floor, and lapsed into a fitful sleep.

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: ME NO OWN!**

**A/N: A special thanks to tripleloopx for being the sixtieth person to add this story onto their alert list! I'm sorry for the short chapter last time, guys! Hopefully this one will be a bit better!**

Hermione had her fingers tangled in her hair when she heard it. She had been in the cell for three days, and she hadn't been fed or given anything to drink. Her clothes and hair were filthy from all the time that she spent on the damp, muddy, marble floor. She had not stopped shivering from the cold since Lucius had thrown her inside. What she heard was music to her ears. It was the voice of an angel, low and smooth.

"Hello, Father." Hermione heard him say from the room above her cell. She got up to her feet, daring to believe what she was hearing; Draco was here.

"Draco," said Lucius, venom dripping from the name of his son.

Hermione went up to the bars and clasped them, pressing her forehead on them. They were cold, but she didn't care. All that mattered right now was hearing Draco's voice as clearly as was possible.

Hermione heard a rush of feet, then she heard Lucius say, "Get away from him, Narcissa! He is a traitor, not even fit to be standing before us."

She heard weeping, and then Narcissa's light footsteps faded away. She pressed her ear against the bars as she waited, waited for the heavenly sound of his voice to reach her ears.

But then, all she heard was a cold, mirthless laugh. A laugh that she knew belonged to Draco, but sounded nothing like the Draco that she knew.

"Are you really that _daft_?" he said.

"Don't you talk like that to me, you worthless filth!" Lucius shouted.

Draco laughed again. "You honestly think that I would fall in love with a _Mudblood_? Especially _that_ Mudblood?" he said, spitting out the words. "I don't love her. Hell, I don't even think she's attractive! The only reason why I'm even at all involved with her is so that I could get closer to Potter, figure out what he and that excuse for a Headmaster are up to. Honestly, I thought that even _you_ could see that!"

Hermione's heart froze. Her ears were refusing to accept what they were hearing. Her mind was repeating what he said over and over again, but they weren't computing for her. It was like everything had frozen around her… Time, life, everything. Before she could absorb what was happening, Draco continued.

"I'm glad that I don't have to pretend to like her anymore. I couldn't stand it when she would touch me. And she is a _horrible_ kisser! Honestly! I must say that _I_ was pretty convincing, though. I even wrote her a love-struck letter. Well, _that_ was agonizing." Draco huffed. "I'm just glad to be _done_ with her, you know? And it turns out, it was for nothing. I didn't get any closer to figuring out anything about Potter, all _she_ wanted to do was snog me!"

"How do I know that your telling the truth, Draco?" Lucius asked. "You seemed pretty in love-struck in the hospital wing."

"I didn't want anyone to be suspicious, did I?" said Draco.

There was a pause as Lucius contemplated this. "I'm still not sure, son."

Draco huffed again. "Fine. Where is she?"

There was the clicking of shoes on marble as Lucius led his son towards Hermione's cell. She wanted to run to the back of the room, but she was rooted to the spot. Lucius let Draco pass him so he could go down the stairs. Hermione's heart stopped when she saw his silhouette, and then his face was inches away from hers, a look of utter distaste on his face. His eyes were like cool stone as he looked down at her, as if she was a slug on the side of the road.

"Filthy Mudblood." he said. The words cut at Hermione like a sword, leaving deep gashes in her sides. He glared down at her for a moment longer, then, with a loud noise, spat on her face.

Hermione startled and took a step back, wiping her face on her sleeve. Draco laughed loudly at her and spun on his heels, walking up to his father. When he drew level with him, he looked cockily up at him and said, "Is that proof enough?"

Lucius smiled and clapped his son on the shoulder.

Draco smiled back. "I need to get back to Hogwarts," he said. "There's still an old man that I need to take care of."

Draco looked down at Hermione's devastated figure for a moment, then with a swish of his cloak, Disapparated.

Hermione stood there for the longest time, staring at the empty staircase. Her mind wasn't working right. It was confused, not knowing what to accept as fantasy or reality. Malfoy's words kept repeating themselves in her mind, and she could still feel the phantom of Malfoy's spit on her face. Soon, her mind sorted out everything that had just happened to her, and her legs gave out. She painfully hit the marble floor, but the pain was nothing compared to what she was feeling inside.

Tears racing down her eyes at an unbelievable rate, she picked up a stick from the floor and began to scratch out a letter into the floor.

_Things that I now know:_

_One: You hate me._

_Two: You never loved me._

_Three: You hate me._

_Four: You've always thought me nothing more than a Mudblood._

_Five: You hate me._

_Six: Somehow, I still love you._

**I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update, but my life has been so crazy with all my performances. :/ But please review and let me know what you think! It totally makes my day when you guys review, but it makes me sad when people add me to their story alert lists but they don't let me know what they think. :( So make me happy please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: No soy dueño de Harry Potter o cualquiera de sus personajes**

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for all your awesome feedback! Keep it coming and I'll post more often!**

**This chapter is following how Draco is emotionally dealing with everything, starting right after his father Disapparated with Hermione. Sorry for any confusion that this might cause!**

"Please, Mr. Malfoy, please sit back down…"

Madam Pomfrey was begging for Draco to get back into his hospital bed, but he paid no heed.

"Professor Dumbledore will take care of all of this, don't you worry… _Please_, Mr. Malfoy! Sit down for Merlin's sake!"

Draco continued to pull on his robes, afterward searching around for his wand. "No, Dumbledore can't take care of this…" he winced as he contorted his torso weird and he cursed under his breath.

"Mr. Malfoy! _Sit down!_"

"No!" he shouted back. "Merlin knows what my father's going to do to her…"

Suddenly, Draco's eyes filled with dread as he realized just _exactly _what his father could do to her. He cursed again and hit the wall out of fury.

Harry stood helpless in the aisle between the rows of hospital beds. He was still severely confused about what was going on, but he did know that one of his best friends had been captured and needed rescuing.

"Let me go with you, Malfoy…" Harry started, but he instantly realized that he had made a huge mistake.

Draco whirled around and glared at Harry. "_You_," he hissed. "Can stay here. We wouldn't even be in this situation if you hadn't decided to kill me!"

The male egos in the room raised up to the ceiling.

"I didn't just _decide _to kill you, Malfoy! You attacked me! I didn't know-"

"Know that your spell would cut me open like meat?" he asked.

They glared at each other for a long time, jaws set and eyes blazing.

"This isn't going to help Hermione." Draco said through gritted teeth.

Harry was about to retort as Draco had used Hermione's first name, but decided against it.

"So what do we do?"

"_I_ go to the Manor and find out where my father is keeping Hermione. _You_ stay here and alert Du-the Headmaster."

Harry cocked his head to the right at Draco's inability to say Dumbledore's name, but he didn't ask. He nodded and held out his hand.

"Guess that this means that we have to get along for now."

Draco looked down in disgust at Harry's hand, but took it in his own and gave it one, hard shake.

"I guess so."

Harry left, going to Dumbledore's office. Draco picked up his wand from the bedside table and turned on the spot, but Madam Pomfrey was too quick for him.

"_Stupefy!_"

Draco toppled over backwards onto the bed, his eyes lolling into the back of his head. Madam Pomfrey scuttled over to him, setting him up to lie back down on the bed, taking his wand and replacing it back on the bedside table.

"Three days, Mr. Malfoy," she said. "Then you'll be strong enough to save her."

Draco woke up in a haze. He was staring up at a white ceiling, trying to recall how he had gotten there. Then it all came crashing down on him. His father, Hermione…

He sat up quickly and winced. He unbuttoned his shirt and looked down. They were nothing but scars now, but painful scars nonetheless. When Madam Pomfrey saw that he had awoken, she came over to him, throwing his robes over him and handing him his wand.

"It may hurt a little," she said. "But you're strong enough."

It took him a minute to realize what she was talking about, but Draco nodded and stood up. "Has Potter alerted the Headmaster?"

"Yes. They're going to have you go to the Manor and figure out where Hermione is. Then they'll help you from there."

Draco nodded again and took a deep breath. "Merlin help me."

He turned on the spot and disappeared.

**DPOV**

I appeared at the front door of my home, wincing at the new pain that Apparating had brought to my chest.

I looked over my home in a new light. I had never liked it, but now I had a new-found hatred for it. I took a few deep breaths, hardened my face, and walked inside.

My father was standing at the entrance, as if he had been waiting for me. I was repulsed by the superiority in which he looked down at me with. _He _was nothing more than a slug, not me.

"Hello, Father," I said, trying to sound normal. I wanted to look around to see if I might see any clues as to where Hermione might be, but instead I held his father's gaze, trying to be as good as an actor as I could.

"Draco," he replied, venom dripping from my name.

I heard a light _pitter-patter_ of feet, and recognized the sound as my mother's footsteps. I turned around and saw that my mother was running for me, a kerchief clutched in her fist.

"Get away from him, Narcissa! He is a traitor, not even fit to be standing before us." My father said, holding a hand out to his wife.

Narcissa looked frantically between me and her husband, then, in a fit of weeping, ran away from the scene.

My father glared at me, and I took a deep breath, preparing myself the best I could for what I was about to do. I let out a mirthless laugh, one that I hadn't used for quite some time.

"Are you really that _daft_?" I said, maybe a bit too over the top.

My father's eyes grew wild. "Don't you talk like that to me, you worthless filth!" he shouted.

I laughed again. "You honestly think that I would fall in love with a _Mudblood_?" I took another breath, but it was too quick for my father to notice. "Especially _that_ Mudblood?" I said, spitting out the words. "I don't love her. Hell, I don't even think she's attractive! The only reason why I'm even at all involved with her is so that I could get closer to Potter, figure out what he and that excuse for a Headmaster are up to. Honestly, I thought that even _you_ could see that!"

My lies rang through the large greeting area. It pained me to be saying these things, but I knew that I had to in order for my father to believe me. Then a sudden realization hit me. What if Hermione could hear me? I gulped. I had to press on. I'd have to just explain everything to her when she was safe again.

"I'm glad that I don't have to pretend to like her anymore. I couldn't stand it when she would touch me. And she is a _horrible_ kisser! Honestly! I must say that _I_ was pretty convincing, though. I even wrote her a love-struck letter. Well, _that_ was agonizing." I huffed. "I'm just glad to be _done_ with her, you know? And it turns out, it was for nothing. I didn't get any closer to figuring out anything about Potter, all _she_ wanted to do was snog me!"

I would hate myself forever if she could hear me. I prayed that she could see through my façade, but I was afraid that I was too good of an actor for that.

"How do I know that your telling the truth, Draco?" he asked. "You seemed pretty in love-struck in the hospital wing."

_Crap._

"I didn't want anyone to be suspicious, did I?" I said.

There was a pause as my father contemplated this. "I'm still not sure, son."

I had to think fast. I had to know where she was, or this whole trip would be for nothing.

"Fine. Where is she?"

My father's shoes clicked against the marble floor as he led my towards, _oh Merlin_, the dungeon. My father let me pass him so that I could go down the stairs.

My heart stopped when I saw her. Her hands were clutching the bars so hard that her knuckles had turned white, and her face was pressed up against the bars. She looked pale, freezing, and malnourished. It was a miracle that I was able to look at her with disgust when she was in such pain. I walked down the stairs and got my face an inch away from hers. I wanted to kiss her, _a lot_, and to tell her that everything was okay, but instead, I did something that I had seen my father do on multiple occasions; something that I had promised myself that I would never do.

"Filthy Mudblood." I said.

I glared down at her for a moment longer, then, with a lurching of my own stomach, I spat on the only thing that I cared about's face.

Hermione startled and took a step back, wiping her face on her sleeve. I felt sick to my stomach, but I laughed loudly at her and spun on my heels, walking back up to my father. When I drew level with him, I looked deeply into his eyes and said, "Is that proof enough?"

He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder.

I queasily smiled back. "I need to get back to Hogwarts," I said. "There's still an old man that I need to take care of."

My father nodded and I looked back down at Hermione, which was a huge mistake. Even after I Disapparated, I could still see Hermione's devastated face looking up at me.

A face that I would never forget.

**Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I…don't…own…Harry…*snore***

"Here."

There was a loud clanging and Hermione covered her fragile ears. She looked over and saw a platter with a piece of bread and water on it. Her stomach rumbled, but she turned her face away from the food.

"Aww, come on. I got you the food myself," Lucius sneered.

Hermione's heart was beating fast, but not like it did when she used to be with-him. She was afraid. There had been a close call the night before, where Lucius had gotten extremely close to her, but his wife had called him up just in time. Now Lucius's voice set Hermione's teeth on edge, and she instinctively covered herself up as well as she could.

"Don't be like that…" Lucius purred, his heels clicking as he moved closer to her. Hermione curled up in the corner, her face buried in her knees. She could feel how close he was, and then she felt his long, horrible fingers run through her hair. Hermione began to shake.

"If you comply… I'll bring you better food." Lucius said, running his fingers through her hair again.

Hermione looked up, her eyes burning. She quickly stood up, kicking him in the face, sending him sprawling on his back with blood running down his face. She bolted for the exit, but Lucius caught her foot and sent her falling to the ground. She stumbled back up again, and so did Lucius. He grabbed her shoulders, spun her around, and slapped her hard on the face; his rings cutting her lip open and bruising her eye.

"_Mudblood_," he spat, his face inches from Hermione's. She could smell the blood from his face. He threw her to the ground and she hit her head against the corner of the wall.

"Your not worth it." hissed Lucius, beginning to stride out of the room, but then he paused and backtracked. There was a long pause, then a loud, cold laugh from Lucius.

"Ha! You _still _love him? After all of that?" he sneered. "You are even more pathetic than I thought!"

Then he strode out of the room, but not before he kicked over her plate of food.

Hermione curled up into a ball and willed herself to die.

**So Lucius read Hermione's letter to Draco… Give me feedback please!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Potter Harry own not do I.**

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter last time!**

"Nobody's here, Professor."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

This was supposed to be Hermione's rescue mission, but after a thorough searching of Malfoy Manor, they had came up short. They had come in with wands blazing, only to see that all they were attacking were portraits and vases. They found no living soul besides the house elves, who stayed true to their duty by keeping their masters' secrets. So, they had no clue as to where they had gone. Members of the DA, Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, and Draco had all come to help and take whatever means necessary to retrieve the kidnapped student.

Dumbledore rubbed his forehead with his good hand. They shouldn't have waited this long to retrieve Hermione, he knew it. His own concern for all of the other students' safety had gotten in the way of him saving this one. Now, thanks to him, they had no idea where she was.

"Professor!" came Dean's voice from the dungeons.

"Yes, Mr. Thomas?" Dumbledore called back.

"You might want to have a look at this."

Dumbledore swished down the staircase, followed close behind by Draco, whose face was scarred by the things that he had last done to Hermione. He had done what needed be, but he couldn't live with himself if he never got to explain himself. And, so far, by the looks of it, he wouldn't.

Draco waited outside of the dungeons as Dumbledore met Dean, surveying something on the ground. He didn't want to get any closer to where Hermione had been just two days ago, pale and frightened. It was as if he could still see her, like when you look into a light for too long. He only had to reach out and touch her-

"Draco," said Dumbledore softly, breaking him from his vision. "You may want to see this."

Draco gulped, preparing himself for anything.

As he walked down into the cell, he noticed blood and signs of struggle in the grime that layered the stone floor. Draco's blood burned. He knew who had done this to Hermione.

His own father.

Draco decided that he would never forgive him for as long as he lived.

Dumbledore and Dean moved out of the way and he came and stood where they had just been. He peered over on the floor, and with a lurch of his stomach, he saw Hermione's handwriting scratched out into the floor:

_Things that I now know:_

_One: You hate me._

_Two: You never loved me._

_Three: You hate me._

_Four: You've always thought me nothing more than a Mudblood._

_Five: You hate me._

_Six: Somehow, I still love you._

Draco's hands became fists at his side. So she truly believed that he hated her, that he thought her nothing more than a Mudblood. And yet, through _all_ that, she still loved him. He would never understand her overwhelming capacity to love him, quite literally, through everything.

And if she hadn't survived through this struggle, she died thinking that he hated her.

Draco felt tears prick at his eyes. He fell to his knees, tracing the scratched out letters with his fingers.

Something inside him had cracked. He was now a broken man; nothing left to live for in this godforsaken world, if the worst had come to pass. His hand fingered the wand in his pocket. He wondered if Avada Kadavra would work against himself…

"I don't hate you, Hermione," Draco whispered to no one in particular. "I love you. _I love you._"

He felt a hand touch his back, and Draco startled. It was Dumbledore: sympathy pooling in his eyes. "I am sorry, Draco."

Draco felt something like acid burn inside his chest.

"Don't show me kindness!" Draco exclaimed, throwing Dumbledore's already mangled hand away. "Don't you _dare_ have sympathy for me! How _can_ you have sympathy for me?"

Dumbledore gave Draco a knowing look. "I know why you are behaving this way, Draco." his eyes darted to his left forearm. "You can choose another path."

Draco shook his head. "The only thing that I've ever cared about is gone now. There _are_ no paths left for me."

He turned around and ran up the stairs, darting out of the front door and onto the gravel. He took out his wand and pointed it at himself. Two words. Two little, simple words, and all this pain would disappear…

_No_, a voice inside Draco's head said. _She must still be out there…_

Draco looked out over his family's land. He had grown up here, had gotten all his wrong outlooks on life there. And now he hated it. He never wanted to be there again.

And he certainly didn't want to die there.

He did the first thing that came to mind. He turned on the spot, not having a set destination in mind, but hoping that maybe, just maybe, his heart would lead him to what he loved most.

**Reviews would be super ooper nice! It'll make me want to write more, if that bribes you in any way…**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP**

**A/N: I am so sorry for not updating in so long. A lot of family things are going down. My uncle just passed away, and we were really close. It was completely unexpected. He was beginning to suffer from Parkinsons, but there was nothing else wrong with him. I was so gripped with sorrow that I completely forgot about this story. There's my excuse. It's a pretty good one, if you ask me. **

Draco Apparated in a place that he had never seen. He had never randomly Apparated before, and he wondered where the heck he was. The scent of saltwater stung his nose, and he looked around, taking in his surroundings.

He was on a small island that was mostly made up of black rock. He turned around and saw a tall building that looked like it had sprung right from the ground. He walked up to it and saw that the door had been kicked down, but not recently. A nice coat of dust layered the floor, and he was thankful for this; his shoes wouldn't make any noise.

He listened for any sound of life, and sure enough, he heard sniffs and scuttles from the room above him. He drew his wand, muttering "_Lumos._"

The room was made up of just one couch, and he saw that a once-white box lay on it. He opened it, and he saw a moldy birthday cake, but even though the frosting was crusted and cracked, he could make out the following letters: _HA P Y BIR D Y HA RY!_

Draco shook his head, it had to be a coincidence, there was just another Harry somewhere that was unfortunate enough to spend his birthday in this foul-smelling house, but little did he knew that he was standing the exact place where an eleven year old Harry Potter had been lying on his birthday six years ago, drawing a birthday cake in the dust on the ground and making a wish.

He looked around at the rest of the room and found a narrow staircase, and he slowly climbed up them, his heart pumping in his chest.

_Please let her be up here,_ Draco silently prayed. _Please. Unharmed, _alive_, at least…_

He doused the light from his wand and looked through the crack in the door, sweat beginning on his temple as he saw the scene before him.

His father was pacing back and forth in front of the crumpled form of-his stomach lurched-Hermione. Her hair was coated with mud, and dried blood stuck to her face. Bruises were purple on her arms and neck, and she was looking emptily at the floor, as if she had just suffered from the Dementor's Kiss. Tears stung his eyes as he continued to look at her. He knew that this was all his fault. He thought that if he had eve been caught with Hermione, _he _would be the one to suffer the consequences, not her. He would have never gotten involved with her if he had known. His mom was wrapped up in the bed, tears running down her cheeks as she deliberately didn't look at Hermione or her husband.

Draco raised his wand, pointing it at his father's chest.

A million spells ran through his mind, but one was more prominent than the others.

_Just do it_, a voice said in his head. _You know the spell… he doesn't deserve to live, look what he did to her. He wasn't a father to you anyway. He never loved you..._

_No,_ he thought back. _I'm not using Avada Kadavra. I wont stoop to his level._

Then another spell came to his mind. It wouldn't kill him, no, but cause him great pain… He, of all people, should know this.

"_SECTUM SEMPRA!_"

Lucius fell to the ground, his cloak beginning to turn from blue to a deep red. Draco moved quickly, bursting into the room, pointing his wand at his mother, who had screamed.

"Draco…" she said, staring in horror at the writhing form of her husband on the ground. "What have you done?"

"Nothing more than he's done to countless _honorable_ witches and wizards. They're not Mudbloods. And neither is she," he turned to Hermione, who was looking up at him with conflicted eyes. "I am so sorry, Hermione."

He bent down and picked up the bewildered Hermione. Looking down at his mutilated father, he spat on his face. He saw his father's cane on the floor, and he flicked it up with his foot, catching it in his left hand. He broke open the window with it and threw out.

"You're the Mudblood, Father." he spat. Keeping his wand trained on his mother, he Disapparated with Hermione crying in his arms.

**I just realized that I've ended a ton of my chapters with Disapparating… oh, well… would you rather just have him waltz out and swim back to Hogwarts? Didn't think so. :D Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Me no own. Nope. Not a bit**

Draco Malfoy Apparated at the gates of Hogwarts, walking hurriedly in. He had to get Hermione to Madame Pomfrey, she looked malnourished and abused, among other things. Her breathing was shallow, Apparating was beginning to take its affect on her. He could see the weak pulse in the side of her neck.

_No,_ thought Draco. _No, stay with me…_

"W-Why?" Hermione's dry voice cracked. Draco could tell that she was trying not to pass out, and talking seemed to be the best solution.

"Why what?" asked Draco, keeping her talking.

"Why did you come back?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

They were now within Hogwarts, students staring at them as they passed. Hermione's eyes drooped dangerously.

"I love you, Hermione." Draco said quickly, right before her eyes were able to shut.

"But-" Hermione's eyes painfully raised. "You said-"

"What my father needed to hear." Draco interrupted. He didn't want to hear his words repeated.

Hermione's eyes were lolling into the back of her head.

"No." Draco gave her a little jolt, causing her to wince with pain. "Stay with me."

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut. "It hurts…"

"What hurts?" Draco asked, desperate to keep her thinking. "Tell me what hurts."

"Everything." said Hermione. "My head, my body… My heart."

Draco pressed his lips together. His heart was breaking with every wince, every grimace that Hermione made.

He was walking up the stairs to the Hospital Wing. He kicked open the door, walking in as quickly as he could, setting Hermione down on one of the beds.

Somebody gasped, it was Professor McGonnagal. She had been talking with Madame Pomfrey.

"I'll alert the headmaster!" she exclaimed, sweeping out of the room.

Madame Pomfrey ran forward, taking out what seemed like every bottle, tonic, and cream that she owned. Draco sat in a chair next to Hermione, holding tight onto her hand. Madame Pomfrey started with an electric yellow powder, which she rubbed onto her hands and began to press it onto Hermione's bruises. She whimpered, squeezing Draco's hand.

"I love you." Draco whispered into her ear. "I love you, I love you, I love you…"

He didn't stop chanting this, it seemed to help Hermione's spirits, barely keeping her lungs filling up with oxygen. The bruises were starting to fade a bit, and she moved onto the same cream that she had used on Draco's cuts just a week before. Hermione let out a quick scream as Madame Pomfrey pressed it onto one of her cuts.

"I love you so much." Draco said a little louder. "You're everything to me, I love you…"

Hermione nodded, biting her already cracked lips.

"I love you, too," she whispered, a tear leaking from her eyes.

Draco's face lifted slightly into a sad smile, tears of joy welled up in his eyes, but he kept them in. Only one person in this room had the right to cry at all, and that was Hermione.

"I'm going to have to take her shirt off." said Madame Pomfrey. "Mr. Malfoy, if you could please…"

"No…" said Hermione weakly, her chest heaving with the effort to speak. "He needs… to stay…"

Draco gulped and nodded, looking respectfully down at the ground as Madame Pomfrey began to unbutton Hermione's shirt. He had always imagined what Hermione might look like with her shirt off, and he wanted to see her like that after they were, maybe, someday, married, not when she was cut up and bruised. It would be sick if such things were on his mind right now. As Madame Pomfrey started to tend to whatever injuries she had there, Hermione squeezed Draco's hand harder than ever before.

"I love you." she began to chant through her tears, as if this single fact was the only reason why she kept herself breathing. She seemed to be convincing her heart to keep beating so that she could continue to love the man next to her. She screamed as Madame Pomfrey put the cream in a particularly large and deep cut. They spent three _horrible_ hours like this until Hermione was finally able to breathe easily again. Draco had expected her to be exhausted, but she had demanded for food. Countless bandages covered her skin, and a large tray of food was on Hermione's lap, and she was hungrily eating all she could get her hands on.

A question had been burning inside of Draco since he had first seen her like this, and he thought that now was as good a time as ever to ask.

"Hermione… Did my father… Did he hurt you?" Draco hoped that she saw the meaning behind the question, his father had obviously literally hurt her, but he couldn't tell if he had hurt her in the way that Draco truly feared.

Hermione smiled weakly. "No, Draco. He tried, trust me, he tried, but we had to leave before he could try anything serious."

Draco sighed in relief. She was still pure, still safe. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I am so sorry for ever getting you tangled up in this. So sorry. Can you forgive me?" he asked.

Hermione smiled. "It might take me a while, Draco. But after my heart mends a little, of course. I'll do everything in my power to trust you again."

She turned her head so that their lips met. They sat like that for a long time, simply loving being in each other's presence, knowing that they were safe, that they were okay.

"I love you, Hermione. So much," he whispered into her lips.

"I love you, Draco. More than anything."

Draco kissed her cheek.

"No matter what happens," he said, "I'll always love you. In sickness, health, for better, or for worse…" he chuckled slightly, his heart suddenly pumping against his chest. "just like my vows will promise."

First confusion, and then a joyous light infected Hermione's eyes. "Is that a proposal?"

Draco shrugged, smiling. "I can't technically propose until we're both seventeen, but I'm sure that you can count on a real, proper proposal in a few month's time."

Hermione smiled and kissed him. "And you can count on me saying yes."

**Please please please please please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I know, I know, it has been WAY too long, but I took a break from FanFiction to focus on my original stories. But here's the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: HP is not mine. Neither is Sail by ALOWNATION.**

Draco was going to be sick. He could feel is stomach turn over in his abdomen, and felt feverish. He pressed his forehead against the mirror, the cool surface burning on his hot skin.

Voldemort had not yet heard news that Draco was in love with Hermione, so he still expected Draco to carry out his task. But he couldn't do it. He had tried, but he knew that the great Dumbledore could not be killed from simply poisoning a bottle of butterbeer or sending him a cursed necklace. He had already broken so many wizarding laws, and he was sure that he was going to break more than a law if he continued on with this.

He was going to break Hermione's heart.

But Draco could hear Voldemort's threats ringing through his ears…

"_Do it, or I will kill you… I'll kill you, your mum, everything that you love most… Maybe I'll just put you under the Imperius curse, I'm sure your friends will like you so much more if you were to suddenly become as bright as a nail… Or perhaps I'll just torture you until you give in… Yes, I like that option…"_

"NO!" Draco yelled, pounding his fists against the bathroom mirror.

He should have never gotten involved with Hermione, every second that he remained with her was just hurting her more. Their relationship was not going to end well, whatever that end might be.

Draco imagined the worse.

He could just see what Voldemort's face would be like if he ever found out, rage, then glee… Voldemort would be all too happy to kill Hermione, Draco knew this deep down.

And he had said that he was going to marry her.

"Happily ever after." Draco muttered to himself.

He lifted up his shirt sleeve, splashing cool water onto his forearms. There were several little marks on his left arm, right over his Dark Mark. He had begun to cut himself, and hate himself, and want to kill himself…

But he would never do that. Not out of selfishness, out of knowing how much that would hurt Hermione. He had seen how much her thinking that he hated her affected her, and if she thought that Draco was dead…

Draco splashed his face with the water, but that didn't help. He had drenched through his shirt with sweat, and he felt like the weight of the world on his shoulders. In the matter of a few months, the same amount of time until he told Hermione that he would propose to her, he would earn the title of 'murderer,' and he would hurt Hermione more than he ever had before.

He remembered his last boggart, the one where Hermione was shouting at him, telling him that she hated him because he was a Death Eater. He was surprised and thankful that she hadn't figured it out yet.

Remembering the boggart, a sudden, uncontainable rage blazed inside of him. He whipped out his wand, pointing it at the closest stall.

"_Diffindo!_"

The door flew off, and he cast the spell again, the toilet blowing up, water spewing up from the plumbing. He pointed his wand everywhere there was something to destroy, and soon the room was left in ruins.

Breathing heavily. Draco sunk to the ground, putting his head between his legs.

When he got control of himself, he stood up and pointed his wand again, a bit more calmly this time, and muttered "_Optimis Reparo."_

The fragments of the doors and toilets and floor flew back together, leaving the bathroom to look like nothing more than just that; a bathroom, not someplace were a severely conflicted teen took out his anger at anything he could find.

His hands plunged deep in his cloak pockets, he walked out of the bathroom, walking up and down halls, climbing stairs, he just kept his feet moving so that he wouldn't start destroying things again.

He found himself on the seventh floor, in front of a familiar wall. It was the wall that led to the Room of Requirement, , where Hermione and the rest of the DA had been practicing when he and the rest of Umbridge's squad had busted them (_Merlin_, thought Draco. _I should have joined them when I had the chance._), where he was keeping the twin closet…

He shook his head, ridding himself of these thoughts, and walked back and forth in front of the wall three times, thinking _Whatever might actually make me feel better._

A beautiful door immerged, and Draco grasped the handle, pulling it open.

The had transformed into a beautiful music room, a perfect, polished grand piano standing in all of its glory in the middle, the lid up, the bench pulled out, just begging to be played.

At first, he was repulsed. The last time that he had played was at the Manor, with his mother listening to him. They had broken out into a fight, and he hadn't played since. But slowly he began to edge forward, his fingers tingling as he sat on the bench and lightly placed his hands on the ivory keys.

He played a few familiar tunes first, loving how his hands felt to be playing again. He had once thought that music was the one thing that he was truly good at, the one thing that he did in this world that wasn't evil or done to hurt someone else. And when he had stopped playing… It had broken him. But then he met Hermione, and the hole had filled, even overflowed. But now the hole was back in his chest now that the task before him was more pressing then ever.

After a while, he began to feel new notes and words go to his fingers and mouth, and he let them through. Hoping that the Room of Requirement was soundproof, he began to play and sing.

"_Th__is how I show my loveI made it in my mind becauseI blame it on my suffering baby."_

Pictures of the boggart-Hermione, and Hermione after his father had kidnapped her, and how all of it was his fault, and the next words forced themselves out of his mouth._"This is how an angel criesI blame it on my own sick prideBlame it on my suffering baby."_

Draco thought of the scars and tattoo on his arm…

"_Maybe I should cry for helpMaybe I should kill myselfBlame it on my suffering baby"_

The ones next just came out of sheer desperation, thinking of Voldemort, and what he had to do…

"_Maybe I'm a different breedMaybe I'm not listeningSo blame it on my suffering baby"_

He thought of Hermione, and how he would love nothing more than to just drop all of this, raise his middle finger to the world and sail away with her, never coming back, not a worry in the world but to love Hermione and just enjoy her… He yelled out, emphasizing how much he just wanted to leave…

"_SAIL_

_Sail with me into the dark._

_SAIL_

_Sail with me into the dark…"_

He hadn't realized that he was crying until he felt a small, delicate hand on his shoulder. He startled, not thinking of taking out his wand, and just jumped up, his eyes blazing until he saw who the hand belonged to. It was Hermione.

"Draco…"

She walked forward, holding his face in her hands and kissed him. Draco kissed her back for all he was worth, knowing that he only had a few more of these embraces before he ruined them.

He held her as close to him as possible, trying to memorize every curve, every contour of her body.

Hermione pulled back, wiping his tears away. "Draco… What's wrong?"

Draco shook his head. "Hermione… I-I can't marry you."

Hermione looked confused and shocked, but not hurt. Not yet. "Why?"

Draco bit his lip. "I… I just can't."

Hermione dropped her hands. "Is there someone else?"

Draco shook his head quickly. "No! No…" he kissed her again, tenderly. "I love _you_. I could never love anyone else."

"Then why can't you marry me?" Hermione asked, looking so deep into Draco's eyes that he felt that she could read his mind.

"Because… because…" Draco couldn't find a way to tell her, but not tell her. "Because if I marry you, it puts you in monumental danger."

"From who, your father? I thought that you took care of him."

"Not my father, Hermione. Someone way worse."

Hermione's eyebrows knitted together, and then Draco could see realization hit her face.

"_Is that proof enough?"_

_Lucius smiled and clapped his son on the shoulder._

_Draco smiled back. "I need to get back to Hogwarts," he said. "There's still an old man that I need to take care of."_

She remembered the cursed necklace, the poisoned bottle, Harry's suspicions of Malfoy, how his dot on the Marauder's Map kept disappearing into the Room of Requirement.

Hermione felt like her stomach suddenly weighed a ton. She swallowed, looking up into Draco's sad, grey eyes. She backed up slowly, unable to reason with the hard logic that was in her head.

"You're-" her eyes kept darting to and fro without really seeing what was in front of her. "Draco…?"

He grabbed the bottom of his left sleeve and pulled it up, revealing his scars and Dark Mark.

Hermione shook her head slowly, her eyes looking more and more like a devastated child's.

"Dumbledore?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Draco nodded.

Hermione ran her fingers through her hair. "I can't believe this…"

"Hermione please-" he tried to move closer to her, but she stuck out her arm.

"No."

"Hermione, it's not my fault! I don't want to kill him-"

He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she slapped him in the face.

"Stay away from me, Malfoy!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face. "I'm done! You can't use me anymore."

"Use you?" Draco asked, a new hurt in his eyes from Hermione referring to him by his last name. "Hermione, you know that those were all lies!"

Hermione's lips rubbed together as she tried to keep from balling. "Do I?'

"Yes!" said Draco, throwing his arms into the air. "I told you! Remember?"

Hermione's chest began to give out bursts, he was really crying now. "Goodbye, Malfoy."

She turned and left, leaving a broken, hurt, dying Draco behind her.


End file.
